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​Phase 2 Update Newsletter

This is the first installment of the Heartwood Cohousing Phase 2 Update newsletter. While the Heartwood Happenings newsletter that you've been receiving is all about sharing little glimpses of life here at Heartwood, the Phase 2 Update newsletter will provide you with the latest information about the development of our second phase.

Recent Progress

​The most significant progress that we've made towards making Phase 2 a reality was collaborating with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to create a left turn lane off the highway (Hwy 160) onto our county road (CR 506). That secured for us a much safer intersection and a CDOT access permit for up to 20 new homes. The lack of a left turn lane had been the major obstacle preventing Phase 2 from happening for the past 19 years. Very exciting to get that resolved!

With the access permit in hand, it's time to get to work. Back in 1998, we decided to create our community in two phases. Because we've evolved since then, we revisited that decision, working together for many months to revise our vision of Phase 2 (P2). Some of the significant new parts of our P2 vision include:

rather than P2 being fairly separate from the existing P1, the two phases will be fully integrated

consider locating P2 homes close to the P1 cluster to support that integration

increase the number of P2 lots from 10 to possibly 14

work with the County to create the possibility of farm housing in the pasture to make it easier to support farmers on our land

possibly sell off some of our 65 acres of pastureland in order to make it easier for us to properly steward our pastureland

Although it's very important for us to create a vision for P2, the reality is that the County will have to approve our P2 development so they will have a huge impact on how P2 actually gets developed. The County approval process is one of the most critical pieces in our P2 development work and the one I'm most focused on right now. I've had several meetings with government agencies (county planners, fire department, health department, Town of Bayfield) and have more scheduled (road and bridge department, water division).

Another critical piece in the success of P2 is marketing. Before we begin constructing roads, water, septic systems, and homes, we will want to have the lots pre-sold. To that end, our Membership team has been working hard to revamp our website (adding lots more information and photos), increase our social media presence (links at the bottom of this email), assist people with their exploration of Heartwood, and host lots of visitors coming to check out life in community.

Another important recent focus has been to assemble our development team. I'm very excited about these professionals we'll be working with:

land use planning consultant: Nancy Lauro

engineers: Mike Olson and Chad Engelhardt

architect: Matt Worswick

attorney: Paul Kosnik

I've also been working on some of the foundational necessities of creating P2, including creating a development company (Tara Development, LLC), obtaining a tax ID number, setting up a bank account, and obtaining initial funding. Not particularly exciting work, but necessary. BTW, I chose the name Tara because within Tibetan Buddhism Tara is regarded as a female bodhisattva of compassion and action.

The Path Ahead

​I will continue to focus primarily on County approval and marketing.

When we developed Phase 1, the County approval process took us a couple of years. The land use planning consultant I'm working with for P2 thinks that we should be able to get our approvals by the summer of 2020. As soon as we get County approval, we will be able to sell lots and begin construction.

In marketing we will work to introduce more people to Heartwood and support them in their exploration. On the local level, in March we will begin monthly 4th Friday Happy Hours and Potlucks. We actually hold a community Happy Hour and Potluck every Friday, but on the 4th Friday of every month we will open them to the public, inviting anyone interested in learning more about Heartwood to come and join us.

On a national level we will explore ways to introduce more people to Heartwood – that is, drive more traffic to our website. Also, I have made reservations to attend the National Cohousing Conference in Portland in early June. Not only will I be able to spread the good word about Heartwood, I will learn the latest strategies in cohousing development and build relationships with members of the larger cohousing movement. If you are interested in learning more about cohousing, you might want to consider attending also.

I will soon be opening up Phase 2 membership so you'll be able to reserve your spot. Stay tuned to future newsletters for details. If you have been watching Heartwood from a distance, this would probably be a good time for you to plan for a visit so you will know if you want to become a P2 member when membership opens. The project is picking up speed. There are a limited number of spots and they will sell out.

Phase 2 offers a unique opportunity to be a founding member of a new community and at the same time join an already successful community.

To plan a visit to Heartwood, you can go to the Plan a Visit page of our website or simply reply to this email, which will put you in touch with Sandy, my wife and email contact person on our Membership team.

The Phase 2 Update newsletter provides periodic updates on our progress in developing the second phase of Heartwood Cohousing. To have Heartwood newsletters delivered right to your inbox, click on the GET IN TOUCH button at the bottom of this page.